Gnarly is the first level in Special World of Super Mario World. It is mostly a vertical level in which Mario or Luigi have to scale ropes or creepers and use springboards to reach the top. It takes place in the sky.

Contents

Gnarly consists of two areas on which Mario and Luigi has three hundred seconds on the Timer to complete. This level contains eight Dragon Coins, although only seven of them are attainable in one go. This level contains no secret exit.

The player will start next to a Message Block, which tells the player there is a surprise at the end of the Special Zone. To progress through the screen, the player must first go upwards. There are a few springboards the player can jump up, which will lead to a platform with four Turning Blocks. Upon hitting these turning blocks, they all sprout vines which the player can climb up; however, only the rightmost vine will lead to anywhere useful as the rest will get stuck below Blocks. Once the player climbs up to where the red Koopa Paratroopa is flying, hitting the right turning block will result in another vine growing, and the left will give the player a P-Switch. The player should use the ♩ Blocks on the right side to take the P-Switch to the top. Once at the top, the player should hit the P-Switch (which will make lots of ? Blocks appear) and fall down against the right wall, and then enter the Warp Pipe the player ends up next to.

In the next screen, the player will encounter 3 Dragon Coins to the left, and three 1-Up Mushrooms to the right. The 1-Up Mushrooms will be invisible. After collecting all that, the player can simply fly over the pit to the right if they have a Cape Feather. Otherwise, the player must use the P-Switches to make ? Blocks appear, defeat the Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother, and use his platform to reach solid ground. There is a Lakitu that tosses Spinys at the player right before the Giant Gate.